"There are many mid-Body Integration Stage fellow daoists in our human and demon races just like us, but only very few who have made it to the late-Body Integration Stage. If I recall correctly, Fellow Daoist Han seems to have only reached the mid-Body Integration Stage not long ago; this rate of progression is far too extraordinary! Even the most legendary figures in the history of our two races most likely can't compare with him," Buddhist Monk Jin Yue agreed with a nod.
"It's exactly because of Fellow Daoist Han's stunning aptitude that this step will be even more difficult for him to take. After such a short time, his foundation can't be all that solid; that'll increase the difficulty of making this breakthrough," the white-robed elderly man said.
"Hehe, we're all just speculating here; it's yet to be seen what's actually going to happen. Perhaps Fellow Daoist Han will give the two of us a huge surprise," Buddhist Monk Jin Yue chuckled.
"I certainly hope so. If another late-Body Integration cultivator can support our city, then we'll have a much easier time against the devilish army. Fellow Daoist Han's powers as a mid-Body Integration cultivator were already comparable to those of a late-Body Integration cultivator; if he were to succeed in this breakthrough, he would most likely even be able to face a Sacred Ancestor clone in battle," the white-robed elderly man mused.
"Indeed. Prior to the descent of the true bodies of the Sacred Ancestors into this realm, their clones will be the most powerful beings in the devilish army. If there's a way for Fellow Daoist Han to hold them off, then we can abandon our original plan and focus our efforts on dealing with those devilish lords," Buddhist Monk Jin Yue said as a cold light flashed through his eyes.
The white-robed elderly man nodded in response before turning toward the phenomena taking place in the distance again.
At this point, the fiery clouds up above had already transformed into a crimson sea that had encompassed virtually the entire sky, and beneath the fiery clouds, a series of giant runes of different colors were taking shape.
These runes were radiating dazzling light, and in the next instant, they abruptly surged up toward the fiery clouds, as if they were about to pierce through the clouds.
A loud buzzing sound rang out from the fiery clouds, and they began to churn even more violently. As soon as the giant runes came into contact with the clouds, a peculiar sizzling sound rang out, following which the runes began to crumble away.
They had been completely repressed under the clouds.
A cold harrumph suddenly reverberated through the entire space, following which a blurry humanoid figure that was over 10,000 feet tall appeared amid a flash of azure light, then pointed upward several times in quick succession in an expressionless manner.
Invisible ripples ran through the space up above, and the rate at which the giant runes were being manifested sped up by over tenfold.
Millions of runes emerged in the span of just a few breaths, then surged upward like a reverse waterfall.
However, the fiery clouds remained as resolute as ever, even against the drastic increase in the influx of giant runes.
Both the fiery clouds and giant runes were expanding at an alarming rate, and it was as if they were never going to stop.
However, the giant humanoid projection seemed to have grown impatient, and it abruptly swept an arm toward the fiery clouds from afar.
Even though it was only a projection, the attack that it unleashed triggered a resounding boom akin to a dull thunderclap.
The azure humanoid projection crumbled away in a flash, but an enormous burst of invisible power surged easily into the clouds before immediately exploding.
A string of explosions rang out in rapid succession, and a giant hole with a diameter of over 1,000 feet appeared within the clouds.
Some of the giant runes down below instantly surged through the hole in the clouds, following which the hole was sealed in a flash.
Those runes converged to form another enormous rune that was around an acre in size, and it was gradually being converted into a substantial form.
However, right at this crucial juncture, dark clouds suddenly began to appear above the fiery clouds. These dark clouds then transformed into a series of giant black wyrms amid a string of explosive thunderclaps.
Extremely thick botls of silver lightning began to appear over the bodies of these wyrms, creating an astonishing sight to behold.
"There are 81 of them! That's incredible! I recall the late-Body Integration Stage tribulation that I witnessed in the past only had 36 wyrms!" Buddhist Monk Jin Yue exclaimed.
A hint of astonishment also flashed through the white-robed elderly man's upon seeing this, but he said in a calm manner, "I wonder how Fellow Daoist Han is going to deal with such a fearsome late-Body Integration Stage tribulation. If any mishaps occur, he could easily end up with severe wounds and fail to make his breakthrough. It's a pity that we can't assist him during this process. Otherwise, perhaps there would still be hope for him."
He seemed to have already convinced himself that Han Li definitely wouldn't be able to transcend this tribulation.
"There's no need to be overly concerned, Brother Gu; Fellow Daoist Han must have his reasons for attempting a breakthrough at a time like this. Let's wait and see for now," Buddhist Monk Jin Yue replied in a serious manner.
Right at this moment, another rumbling thunderclap erupted, and several tens of bolts of golden lightning crashed down from above, each of which was as thick as a water tank.
The lightning pierced directly through the massive rune and fiery clouds, then struck the giant black wyrms with devastating force.
A resounding boom rang out, and massive holes were blown into the bodies of the black wyrms by the bolts of golden lightning, while the silver lightning around their bodies were all devoured by the golden lightning.
If it weren't for the fact that the golden lightning had disappeared after only a brief moment, the black wyrms really could've been completely destroyed.
However, the golden lightning seemed to have enraged these wyrms, and they let loose ferocious roars as cloud and mist surged toward the holes in their bodies, regenerating them in a flash.
The wyrms then opened their mouths to expel gusts of fierce black wings which swept downward in a frenzy, and the fiery clouds down below began to burn with even greater ferocity.
The wind and flames complemented one another, forming a massive sea of flames that encompassed an area of close to 100 kilometers. The sea of flames then began to descend, and the space down below was illuminated into a bright red color, as if the entire space were being set alight.
Buddhist Monk Jin Yue and the white-robed elderly man's expressions both changed slightly upon seeing this.
If the tribulation transcender were to fail to control this sea of flames, countless normal cultivators down below would perish!
The other cultivators nearby also drew a sharp breath in unison.
They didn't think that the heavenly tribulation would be this formidable even in its initial stages.
If they were in Han Li's place, all of them would've most likely been reduced to ashes already.
At the center of the sea of flame was none other than the stone pagoda that Han Li was staying in.
This pagoda was naturally protected by some restrictions, but if it were to be struck by the sea of flames, it would most definitely be destroyed.
Right at this moment, a ball of silver light appeared at the top of the pagoda, following which a clear cry rang out as giant silver Fire Raven emerged.
When it first appeared, the Fire Raven was only around 10 feet in size, but as it spread its wings, it swelled to over 100 times its original before hurtling directly toward the sea of flames.
A dull thump rang out as the silver Fire Raven vanished into the sea of flames, but in the next instant, the sea of fire suddenly began to churn violently.
The crimson flames converged rapidly toward the giant Fire Raven as if they were being drawn by an irresistible force, then quickly vanished amid flashes of light.
In just a short time, over a fifth of the entire sea of flames had disappeared, and at this rate, it wouldn't be long before the whole sea of fire ceased to exist.
However, before that could happen, the giant black wyrms up above suddenly opened their mouths to expel bursts of white Qi that swept downward.
The white Qi appeared to be quite ordinary, but as it dispersed through the air, over 10 translucent and peerlessly sharp ice spikes that were each around 10 feet in length were created. Before the ice spikes had even begun to descend, a burst of ghastly howling rang out from within the stone pagoda down below, following which five wagon-wheel-sized skulls flew out, then opened their mouths to expel five streams of glacial flames that swept directly upward.
As soon as the ice spikes came into contact with these glacial flames, they reverted back to white spiritual Qi before vanishing amid the flames. Even after these two types of attacks had been nullified, the black wyrms remained completely unfazed. Their bodies twisted around, and they exploded amid resounding booms.
The fragments of their bodies then transformed into countless giant rocks of different sizes.
The smallest of these rocks were smaller than human heads, but the largest ones were over 10,000 feet in size and resembled small mountains. With so many giant rocks crashing down from above, it was as if doomsday had arrived, and all of the normal cultivators down below instantly paled in horror.
Within a secret chamber on the deepest level of the stone pagoda, there was a person seated with his eyes tightly shut on a yellow futon.
Spiritual Qi was surging all over his body, and his face was quite red. Sweat was pouring down from his forehead, and it seemed that he was straining against something in a very arduous manner.
Before him stood a pair of miniature mountains, one black and one azure, each of which was around 10 feet tall. Above him, there were 72 small azure swords that were revolving in the air.
There were also layers of black runes surging over his body, encompassing a suit of inky-black armor.
Strangely enough, there were countless grey specks of light dispersed throughout the entire secret chamber. Each speck of light was only around the size of a human thumb, but they were giving off an extremely frosty aura.
